China threat Taiwan

China Taiwan

Putin and Xi

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have tea in Beijing. Follow live updates. Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/Reuters Helen Livingstone Fri 17 May 2024 07.04 As Putin seeks to cement Russia’s economic ties with China, the west has been moving to “decouple” its economy, and his visit comes the same week that the US …

Hungary and China

A side by side cooperation between an unliberal Les democratic regime state and an autocratic state. https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1788790272400535798?t=CfqGyOtg_tIEB5xV-Hrjgw&s=09

The Axis of Upheaval

How America’s Adversaries Are Uniting to Overturn the Global Order ....Global orders magnify the strength of the powerful states that lead them. The United States, for instance, has invested in the liberal international order it helped create because this order reflects American preferences and extends U.S. influence. As long as an order remains sufficiently beneficial …

Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity

(Stockholm, 22 April 2024) Total global military expenditure reached $2443 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8 per cent in real terms from 2022. This was the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009. The 10 largest spenders in 2023—led by the United States, China and Russia—all increased their military spending, according to new data on global …

A war is brewing in the Pacific Will Aukus make the same mistakes as Nato?

BY Thomas Fazi The US may be losing ground to new global powers in many respects, but when it comes to the business of sowing conflict around the world, it remains unrivalled. As it slowly abandons Ukraine to its own fate, after playing a crucial role in triggering the conflict in the first place, and as it contributes to …

My gut tells me we will fight in 2025

The Middle East as a Prototype for Polycentricity

In the modern world, the role of large centres of power and regional powers is growing, including many states in the Middle East: Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. In this complex configuration of interests and relationships, many countries are experiencing escalating conflicts with their neighbours and extra-regional forces. Some of the major powers …

Does North Korea want to start a war? Maybe, some experts say.

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week declared South Korea to be an enemy state and formally abandoned the idea of peacefully reunifying the two halves of the peninsula,a bombshell even by his fiery standards. It marked a sharp break from the long-standing principle set by his grandfather and reinforced by his …